Explorations the Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina
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Volume IV 2009 Explorations The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina www.explorationsjournal.com [email protected] Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships UNCW Honors Scholars Program Randall Library, room 2007 University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC 28403 copyright © 2009 by the University of North Carolina Wilmington Cover photographs: “Cold Mountain, North Carolina” © Afterneath’s Storm via flickr “Downtown Raleigh Skyline” © Dtraleigh via flickr “Surf City Pier” © Andrew Odom via flickr ISBN: 978-0-9823382-3-0 Produced in The Publishing Laboratory Department of Creative Writing 601 South College Road Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 www.uncw.edu/writers Staff Editor-in-Chief Katherine E. Bruce, PhD Director, Honors Scholars Program and Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Professor, Pyschology University of North Carolina Wilmington Graduate Assistants Amanda Cosgrove Department of English University of North Carolina Wilmington Derick Poku Department of Mathematics University of North Carolina Wilmington Copy Editor Tom Dunn Department of Creative Writing University of North Carolina Wilmington Layout Designer Sarah Brehm Department of Creative Writing University of North Carolina Wilmington Cover Designer Sarah Andrew Department of Creative Writing University of North Carolina Wilmington Publishing Laboratory Assistants Latacheé Howard Department of Creative Writing University of North Carolina Wilmington Mike Blair Department of Creative Writing University of North Carolina Wilmington Editorial Board William Atwill, PhD Associate Director of Honors Associate Professor of English University of North Carolina Wilmington Michael Benedetti, PhD Associate Professor of Geography University of North Carolina Wilmington Blake Hobby, PhD Director, Honors Program Lecturer in Literature and Language University of North Carolina Asheville Jesse Peters, PhD Dean, Honors College, Director, Undergraduate Research Center Associate Professor of English University of North Carolina Pembroke Granetta Richardson, PhD Senior Lecturer in Film Studies University of North Carolina Wilmington Stephanie Richardson, PhD Lecturer in English University of North Carolina Wilmington Steven Singletary, PhD Assistant Professor of Geology and Chemistry Fayetteville State University Margaret Young, PhD Assistant Professor of Biology Elizabeth City State University With special thanks and appreciation to the faculty mentors and volunteer blind reviewers. Table of Contents 1 Letter from the Editor Humanities 3 Tess of the d’Urbervilles: The Modern Date Rape Case Ashley Gedraitis 18 Composition 2.0 in the Classroom: Studying the Integration of New Media and Multimodal Composition Sarah McKone 35 Subcreation as Synthesis of Language and Myth: The Power and Purpose of Names and Naming in Tolkien’s The Children of Húrin Stephanie Ricker 62 The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling’s Stage for Social Criticism Michael Tildsley Social Sciences 85 List Linking as a Tool to Test Transitive Inference in Rats Leah Jordan 108 Intimate Advertising: A Study of Female Emotional Responses Using ZMET Evelyn Siergiej 121 About the Authors 123 Submissions Letter from the Editor t was with pleasure that UNC Wilm- Several people helped make the transi- I ington assumed editorial responsibility tion from ECU to UNCW a smooth one. this year for the on-line and print journal Former Explorations editor Dr. Michael Explorations. Explorations is a unique publi- Bassman and his team at ECU were quick cation: many universities have their own to lend support and guidance—especially undergraduate research publications, but Ms. Kendra Harris, Ms. Sue Chapman, I believe this is the only state-wide under- and Mr. Aaron Mickelson who responded graduate journal. Truly this is due to the so quickly to emails requesting help for the state-wide commitment to enhancing the webpage. Thanks to several folks at UNCW undergraduate experience—evident from for their support: Dr. Cathy Barlow, Interim the several years of well-attended State of Provost, Dr. Johnson Akinleye, Associate North Carolina Undergraduate Research Vice Chancellor for Academic Programs, and Creativity Symposia (SNCURCS). Ms. Emily Smith and her wonderful team In this transition year, we moved the at the UNCW Publishing Laboratory, Ms. editorial “home” for Explorations from East Amanda Cosgrove, Explorations web page Carolina University to UNCW, and sub- designer, Mr. Derick Poku, graduate assis- mission rates suffered a bit because of the tant for CSURF, the Center for the Sup- loss of continuity; however, the quality of port of Undergraduate Research and Fel- the articles remains quite strong. Three of lowships, and Mr. Bo Dean, Ms. Carole the four articles in the Humanities section Reynolds, and Dr. Bill Atwill for unflagging are thought-provoking essays on topics or support day-to-day in the Honors Scholars books as diverse as The Twilight Zone, Tess Program office. Dr. Courtney Thornton, of the d’Urbervilles, andThe Children of Hurin. UNC General Administration, has pro- The fourth article in that section highlights moted undergraduate research at the state empirical research on the use of technology level and lobbied for both SNCURCS and in the English curriculum. The topics of the Explorations. Finally, Dr. George Barthalmus two articles describing empirical research at NCSU, an ardent advocate of under- in the Social Sciences range from learning graduate research statewide, has kept the in rats to emotional reactions to magazine mission of Explorations and SNCURCS ads. We look forward to increased submis- strong. sions for volume V. Enjoy volume IV! All the articles published in Explorations have been through several levels of review. Not only were faculty mentors reviewers for the articles, but the mentors obtained two “blind” reviews from colleagues in the field before the papers were even submit- ted. Further the members of the editorial Katherine Bruce, PhD board reviewed the submissions over the summer. I thank all of these mentors and reviewers for their time and dedication. vii Humanities Tess of the d’Urbervilles: The Modern Date Rape Case Study Ashley Gedraitis Wake Forest University Faculty Mentor: Melissa Jenkins, PhD Department of English Wake Forest University APE : ALTHOUGH A DIRTY four-letter conversation with the legal writings and R word in most cultures, unspoken out- court cases of the nineteenth century, side of courtrooms and hospitals, many William Davis, Jr. argues that The Chase people still maintain a cogent idea of what scene in Tess of the d’Urbervilles was indeed it is—what it means “to rape” and “to be criminal rape. The legal definition of rape raped,” what it means to be the aggres- in nineteenth-century England was “the sor and to be the victim. From the infa- offence of having an unlawful and car- mous rape of Lucrece to the plague of nal knowledge of a woman by force, and date rapes on college campuses today, the against her will” (Davis 223). A further ex- legal definition of rape has been written amination of the law would yield the fol- and rewritten and its societal definition lowing disclaimer: “to constitute rape, it continuously altered and refined. Because is not necessary that the connection with of the capricious nature of rape’s defini- the woman should be had against her will; tion, it becomes difficult to pinpoint rape it is sufficient if it is without her consent” in historical contexts; literature is no excep- (Davis 223). Strikingly similar to various le- tion. From the beginning of its publication gal definitions of rape today, under English process, Thomas Hardy’s Victorian classic law, Tess’s rape was an actual criminal Tess of the d’Urbervilles functions as the per- act. While the text does not include her fect example of rape’s complexity. “The protests, it is also absent of her consent. Chase scene,” the marked moment of the Because Tess was obviously asleep at the main character’s fall, has been scrutinized time when consent was needed, she physi- for any evidence of rape. Yet the question cally could not give consent, tantamount remains: was Tess Durbeyville raped? to rape. However, despite the scene’s clear By assessing the text of Tess’s rape in alignment with rape’s definition, Hardy’s 3 Explorations | Humanities readers still debate Tess’s role in The consent, the rape victim still descends into Chase. In fact, this rape pattern contin- immorality and impurity. ues to soundly manifest itself in several of Yet by examining “The Chase” as a cur- Hardy’s revisions to the original edition, rent case study of rape victims, one can which further echo his own opinion on draw precise parallels between Alec’s sadis- Tess’s rape. These revisions, once affirming tic pursuit and violation of Tess and current Tess’s pure state, were removed to appease theory on sexual aggression and date rape. Hardy’s readers, who were unreceptive to Proving that the institution of rape has Tess’s original depiction of purity even af- remained unvaried for at least a century, ter her rape. The existence of the rape law, these parallel constructions can also silence coupled with Hardy’s forced revisions, ges- those who argue that Tess may have played ture to a culture that similarly viewed rape a willing role in her own fall. Through the as a dirty word, and thus, a dirty act. It ap- lens of an objective case study, Hardy’s cur- pears to have been easier to write Tess off rent